Eastern Visayas reaps gains from absence of disasters

TACLOBAN CITY, Dec. 21  -- Eastern Visayas enjoyed more economic gains in 2018 with no major calamities that disrupted business activities, despite being one of the country’s most disaster-prone region.

The region’s six provinces did not experience major earthquake similar to what struck Leyte province early of July 6, 2017 and powerful typhoon that devastated Biliran province mid-December last year.

“The only damaging natural occurrence that hit the region is the flooding in Eastern Samar last November, but its negative impact was mitigated through quick and massive assistance by the Department of Agriculture in affected areas,” said National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) Regional Director Bonifacio Uy.

The official believes that the impact of natural hazards is a major factor that worsens poverty situation in the region as they destroy the people’s source of livelihood.

The region is one of the most calamity-prone areas in the country due to its geographic location, facing the Pacific Ocean in the eastern portion and within the Pacific Ring of Fire.

As of the first half of 2018, agriculture and fishery production improved by 4.71 percent. Gainers during the period were rice, corn, coconut, banana, sugarcane, and livestock products.

Rice, the most vulnerable crop to disaster, posted a production growth of 7.88 percent in the first semester. This could be credited to the distribution of high-yielding varieties and sufficient water supply during the period, Uy said.

Eastern Visayas region is a predominantly farming area, where 45 percent or 976,415 hectares of its total land area is devoted to agriculture.

The good economy is evident in the sustained double-digit growth in the region’s bank deposits during the first six months of the year. The region’s deposit portfolio grew by 13.67 percent to PHP115.43 billion in the first half of 2018.

“More bank deposits means that people gain more income this year and they’re able to save some of the amount in banks,” the NEDA official said.

Uy noted that the construction boom continues despite slowdown of post-disaster recovery projects in the region due to President Rodrigo Duterte’s “Build, Build, Build” program and private sector investments.

The Philippine Deposit Insurance Corporation (PDIC) banking statistics, posted on its website, showed the total number of accounts grew by 9.87 percent, from 901, 471 to 990,514 during the first six months of 2018.

The number of banks increased to 234 in 2017 from 214 in the previous year. All provinces also posted significant growth in both accounts and deposits.

Business name registrations totaled to 1,463 in the first six months of 2018.

“More than half of these were new registrants, an indication of the renewed enthusiasm of businessmen to invest in the region,” Uy added.

Giant firms such as SM Prime Holdings and Robinsons Land Corp. opened their new malls in Ormoc City this year. This year, Double Dragon Properties Corp. also kicked off the construction of two malls in Ormoc City and Palo, Leyte this year.

Initial data on the number of foreign tourists in the region as of first half rose by 20.8 percent, reaching 28,769, while domestic tourists slightly dropped by 2.0 percent.

More tourists are expected to visit Eastern Samar now that the Balangiga Bells are back after these were seized and kept by the US government for 117 years.

“These bells will bring a lot of opportunities not just in Eastern Samar, but in the entire Samar Island since we have been promoting the three provinces as one tourism destination,” Department of Tourism Regional Director Karina Rosa Tiopes said. (SQM/PNA)

Ormoc tourist workers get new gears

ORMOC CITY, Leyte, Dec. 21 -- The regional office of the Department of Tourism (DOT) in Eastern Visayas has turned over gears to eight organizations in this city under the Bottom-up Budgeting (BUB) on product development and capability building for various tourism livelihood opportunities on Thursday.

The beneficiaries are the Cabintan Local Eco-Guide Association; Maglahug, Gaas, Kasudsuran, Sayahan Eco-Guide Association; Active Genuine Youth Leader Association; Brgy. Org. Serve & Accommodate You; Naungan-SanJuan Mangrove Planters Association; Ormoc Food Park Barbecue Stall Occupants; Ormoc City Drivers and the Ormoc Youth Organizations.

The groups received recreation gears and equipment, culinary implements and uniforms, which are aimed to help boost their services and prepare the city to become one of the top tourist destinations in Eastern Visayas.

“I like to thank you, Mayor Richard Gomez, for making it possible for the completion of the Ormoc BUB program, this has been a fund for 2016. I almost thought that we will not be able to use the fund,” DOT Regional Director Karina Rosa Tiopes said during the turn-over ceremony.

Around PHP7 million budget for tourism purposes was about to be returned to the national coffers after the previous administration failed to submit a proposal for its use.

“You all have your trainings and gear, what else will you asked for? It is now in your hands if you will use these gears or not,” Tiopes said.

Tiopes added that part of the tourism plan of the DOT for Ormoc is to create a circuit for local governments offering tourism related activities in the western part of Leyte, where the city serves as the service center.

“For this area, one of the circuit created was the BOP or the Baybay-Ormoc-Palompon circuit, where Ormoc City serves as the service center meaning the tourist will sleep here or do shopping because you have more facilities and services for tourist,” Tiopes explains.

Baybay City is known for its Linta-on Peak 16,000 Blossoms in Pomponan village, which is also a major tourist destination of the city during Holy Week.

Ormoc City, aside from the famous Lake Danao and the geothermal plant that is ideal for educational tourism, is also known as the best jump-off point to Alto Peak, the highest elevation in Eastern Visayas.

Palompon is known for Kalanggaman Island, the leading tourist destination in Eastern Visayas with white sand beach and long stretch of sand bar.

Aside from the BOP circuit, the DOT will also promote the city along with Tacloban and Calbayog to become MICE (Meetings, Incentives, Conventions and Events) destination in 2019.

MICE industry added value for tourism and enhances the tourism economy and is one of the key drivers of tourism destination development and important sources of income, employment and investment.

“As part of the preparations, you need to improve your tourist activities, because when they come, they will not only focus on their conference but will also asked what are the other activities that they can do in Ormoc,” Tiopes said.

Activities that tourist can do while mountain trekking are the city tours, mangrove tour and a visit to Lake Danao.

Gomez, during the turnover of the gears, asked beneficiaries to take care of the gears and always treat tourists properly.

“Make it a wonderful experience for them when they visit. Give them the excitement of coming back to experience again the activities that you offer, Always make them feel good, make your place beautiful and make them feel that Ormoc love them” Gomez added. (RTA/PNA)

Simple party to bring Christmas spirit to Leyte prison

PALO, Leyte, Dec. 21 -- It will not be a lonely Christmas after all for the more than 600 inmates of Leyte’s provincial jail as a simple party had been set on Christmas Eve to make prisoners feel the holiday cheer even behind bars.

Although Christmas in prison is unthinkable in the real world, they have to celebrate the holiday to lighten the mood, let everyone relax, and even put their guard down, said Raul Jacosalem, 47, who has been detained at the provincial jail for 15 years over murder charges.

“There’s nothing more special than to spend Christmas with my family outside, but our party every December 24 helped us a lot to break the routine and monotony of life. Without this, Christmas Eve would be just another day on the calendar,” Jacosalem told the Philippine News Agency (PNA).

Everyone looks forward to December 24, when inmates can feast on traditional Filipino food, such as lechon (roasted pig), pansit (noodles), and soda. There is music and dancing until 5 p.m., but strictly no alcoholic drinks. Family members have been invited to attend the celebration at the covered court.

“Through our livelihood activities here, we’re able to raise money to buy decent food for everyone. Some generous prisoners’ families also donated cash for the simple celebration,” said 49-year-old Joseph Candila, who has been jailed for six years for a murder case.

Candila will celebrate his 50th birthday on December 25. It will be a quieter day inside the prison complex on Christmas Day as all Leyte provincial jail staff will go on holiday break. Only inmates and some guards on duty will be left inside the compound, which is surrounded by hills in upland Kausawagan village here.

Jacosalem and Candila’s Christmas wish is for faster resolution of their cases, serve their sentence, go home, and be with their families.

Leyte provincial jail warden Brendo Gamez said since prison life is boring, inmates need a little Christmas spirit and make the season more meaningful to them.

“Each of them will receive goodie bags filled with hygiene kit from the provincial government. On that day, we will also give recognition to the winners of our sports tournament,” said Gamez, a retired police superintendent and former town mayor.

“Christmas in prison isn’t like Christmas outside, but at the end of the day, it’s still Christmas and the effort is made to make inmates feel the holiday revelry even just for a few hours,” he added.

The jail, under the watch of the provincial government, has 624 inmates with all of them have pending cases before the regional trial courts. Once convicted, they will be transferred to the Leyte Regional Prison in Abuyog, Leyte. (SQM/PNA)

No Christmas break for soldiers after N. Samar landmine attack

TACLOBAN CITY, Dec. 20 -- The Philippine Army has questioned the sincerity of the New People’s Army’s (NPA) declaration of holiday truce following the landmine attack in the capital town of Northern Samar that wounded four soldiers and two civilians on Tuesday.

In a statement issued Wednesday night, the Army’s 43rd Infantry Battalion base in Lope De Vega, Northern Samar, said the actual situation on the ground signified the rebels' lack of intention to observe ceasefire this holiday season.

The NPA detonated landmines in the boundary of Hinatad and Mckinley villages in Catarman town, when soldiers on board a civilian vehicle passed the area Tuesday noon on their way to deliver food supplies for their comrades.

The military have been conducting community support program in the area.

The wounded soldiers were Private Rolly Dizon, Private 1st class Rorey Montopar, Private Joel Lacabe, and Corporal Jose Jerome Ballano. The landmines also injured Sherly Robenacio, 35 and her son Christian, 17, who were passing by the area.

After the landmine blast, the rebels opened fire, triggering a five-minute gun battle. The number of casualty on the enemy side is still unknown.

“This incident shows that communist NPA terrorists are not sincere of their offered unilateral truce this Christmas season because their plan is in contrast with what is happening,” the military said.

“The Philippine Army calls the attention of the people to condemn the barbaric act done by the communist NPA terrorists particularly in using anti-personnel mines and other terroristic atrocities actions in Northern Samar,” the statement added.

The recent attack, according to the military, is a clear violation of the International Humanitarian Law and Comprehensive Agreement for Respect on Human Rights and International Law and had affected the peace effort of the government, particularly in attaining long-lasting peace and development.

Lt. Col. Apollo Herrera, commander of the 43rd IB, said their soldiers will not observe Christmas break to ensure the safety of residents and to brace for other possible attacks by the guerrillas from the Communist Party of the Philippines.

“The unit will plan different and massive tactical operations, and will file both human rights violation and criminal cases against the terrorists,” he added in a statement.

Communist rebels declared a ceasefire for the Christmas and New Year holidays, but Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana said the government will not be fooled by this truce.

The ceasefire will give rebels freedom to regroup and refurbish and be more prepared to fight again after the ceasefire, Lorenzana said.

The communist rebels have been battling government forces for 50 years. The communist rebellion in the Philippines is one of Asia's longest-running insurgencies.

Remote communities of Samar Island have remained among the rebels’ strongholds in the country. (SQM/PNA)

Leyte folk savor Christmas spirit of giving

TACLOBAN CITY, Dec. 20  – The spirit of giving this Christmas is very alive among Leyte folks, from bringing cheers to flood victims to singing Christmas carols to poor families.

Moved by photographs of flood devastation in the town of Jipapad, Eastern Samar, Tacloban-based media workers conceptualized a gift-giving activity for flood victims.

Journalist Marie Tonette Grace Marticio launched an online campaign, asking donations for 100 flood-hit families. Some contributed cash, noche buena items, clothes, school supplies, toys, vitamins, medicines, and shoes. Among the biggest contributors are her media colleagues.

On Sunday, Marticio and her friends took a six-hour overnight trip from this city to Jipapad town to deliver the early Christmas gifts on board a military truck of the 14th Infantry Battalion.

“It was a very tiring trip, but the feeling was overshadowed when we saw the smiles of children coming out of evacuation centers. Some shouted for joy and said thank you for the Christmas gifts,” Marticio recalled.

Jipapad town suffered widespread flood last Nov. 22 when a tropical depression crossed Eastern Samar province.

With the kick-off of the Christmas tradition of Misa de Gallo or the dawn masses, children and even teens are on their feet, hopping from one house to another every night singing Joy to the World, Jingle Bells, Silent Night and traditional Filipino Christmas carols. Singers usually expect to receive cash from house owners.

They usually have hand-made musical instruments like tambourine made from bottle caps, cans or biscuit tins used as drums.

After receiving money, children would sing "Thank you, thank you, "ang babait ninyo (you’re all so kind)". If by chance you ignore them, children would sing "Thank you, thank you, "ang babarat ninyo (you’re a haggler)", and leave ones front yard laughing.

Over the past few years, tricycle driver Emmanuel Alcober, 54, of Tanauan, Leyte noticed that some house owners would bar the children from singing particularly those out of tune and citing the wrong lyrics.

“Some even close their doors and turn off the lights just to make carollers believe that nobody is at home. Some tell carolers to return on Christmas Day,” he said.

Public school teacher Lemuel Pagliawan, 35, of Palo, Leyte observed that “if you give money to a group of children, they would tell others to go and sing at your doorstep because you are generous”.

“With the rising inflation rate, it would be financially challenging for someone to give money to every carolers every night for nine days before Christmas,” Pagliawan added.

Rodel Almeria, a local leader of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints in Tanauan, Leyte said they want to change the mindset of singing Christmas carols by giving gifts to house owners “instead of us receiving money from them”.

Under the church’s Light the World campaign, Almeria’s group listed about a hundred poor families to receive a gift pack with rice, canned goods, and noche buena items. Church members contribute cash for the nightly activity.

“We’re about to hand them (caroling group) PHP20, but they refused. Instead, they handed to me a gift pack. This is a very unique Christmas tradition,” said Joenil Solayao, 33, a father of eight. His family earns from collecting recyclable materials.

Almeria said they have been practicing the gift-giving activity in the past two years, emulating the Three Wise Men from the east who worshipped the child Jesus. “And when they had opened their treasures, they presented unto him gifts; gold, frankincense, and myrrh,” he said. (SQM/PNA)